Alba

Ancient Corsican legend inspires a new generation of beer lovers

A brew for millennials

There was plenty of beer on the French island of Corsica, but it all felt a little, well, old. Isula Distribution saw a gap in the market: a beer brewed with millennials in mind. Weary of outdated local customs and in constant search of exciting nightlife, millennials wanted something they could sip at 2:00 pm at a picnic or 2:00 am on the dance floor—a beer to imbibe from dusk till dawn.

Awakening a legendary mischief-maker

We drew inspiration from the Corsican legend of the mischievous goblin U Fullettu. While the sun shines, Fullettu sleeps. But once it sets, he awakens and spends his nights playing pranks: breaking into homes to pinch people in their beds, clapping his hands to disrupt dreams, laughing at his own pranks—but never getting caught. We used this heritage to create Alba—a modern Corsican beer that speaks to millennials’ fun-loving nature and passion for urban nightlife.

Trà l’attrachjata e l’alba

On the island of Corsica, surrounded by turquoise seas, there once lived a mysterious creature. While the sun shone high above, the goblin U Fullettu slept peacefully. Suddenly, the golden sun sank into the ocean and stars filled the sky.

Fullettu’s eyes sprung open.

Alive and awake, he comes after you at night. He wreaks havoc, pinches you, claps his hands, and laughs at his trickery. Beware, sleeping islander, there will be no rest for you.

From dusk until dawn. Trà l’attrachjata e l’alba.

From day to night

Alba, meaning “dawn” in Corsican dialect, refers to the transitional time between day and night—the hour when Fullettu opens his eyes. We used this idea to inspire the entire brand experience: On the bottle, Fullettu sleeps during the day with his eyes shut. At night he awakens, glowing on the label thanks to a fluorescent trick, ready to join in the revelry.

A personalized site full of surprises

We extended Fullettu’s mischief across Alba’s website. Using geolocation to determine time zones, visitors experience the site differently depending on the hour. If they arrive during the day, the Alba experience is calm and clear; customers can read about the beer’s ingredients and origins. But at night, Fullettu wreaks havoc. The site morphs into a fluorescent puzzle of shuffling tiles and hidden pop-up surprises—so be careful where you click.

A toast to Alba

In addition to surpassing distribution and sales goals, Alba has won strong praise and awards. It plans to expand to mainland France in 2019 and open its own flagship “Brasserie Alba.”

Alba won second place at the Dieline Awards and took home bronze at the Clio Awards.

“We had a blurry vision of what Alba would look like. That’s why we surrounded ourselves with experts. The professionals at Landor were incredibly creative and good at listening. They brought our aspirations to life perfectly, building a bridge between oral tradition—representative of Corsican society—and the modernity of our island.”

New brands, new packaging, new target markets: Today's wine brands are looking to break in with millennial consumers by evolving their offering. What lessons can they take from the craft beer boom? Bradley Reeves weighs in.
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